Images

Core collection with the Mini Multicorer (Mini Muc) viewed from a wide-angle camera attached to the system’s frame. The weight of the Mini-Muc drives four core barrels (only three are visible) into the sediment.

Research geologist Curt Storlazzi free-dives in order to set an instrument on the reef off Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi in March of 2015.

USGS research geologist Curt Storlazzi free dives in order to set an instrument on the reef off Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi in March 2015.

Benjamin Norris in a mangrove forest on the southern edge of the island of Cù Lao Dung, situated in the lower Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ben is carrying a Nortek Vectrino Profiler, a high-resolution velocity sensor, which is attached to a custom-made frame that can be driven by hand into the soft sediment of the mangrove forest to collect data.

Mangrove forest at high tide, on the southern edge of the island of Cù Lao Dung and situated in the lower Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

Neil Ganju prepares to anchor the work boat at a site in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland.

Reflectors are placed throughout a lidar scan area to help reference where the lidar points are in space. Andrew Stevens, USGS, surveys Capitola Beach, walks past a reflector mounted on a tall, yellow tripod in front of the light blue building.

Knowing how much sand is removed and returned by big storm events can help show how waterfronts, like this one in Capitola, change with time.

USGS geologist Bruce Richmond prepares to deploy a pipe dredge that will be dragged along the seabed to collect sediment.

Josh Logan (USGS PCMSC) surveys position and elevation of instrumentation to measure water level and suspended-sediment concentration in the marsh at China Camp State Park in Marin County CA, adjacent to San Pablo Bay (northern San Francisco Bay).

Tidepool scenes of vibrantly colored sea stars could become a rarity as the Sea Star Wasting Disease spreads.

Jenny driving R/V Parke Snavely from the rear of the vessel in order to deploy an underwater towed camera sled.

Map of the four ecoregions that make up the polar bear's range, plus a depiction of seasonal patterns of ice motion and distribution.

Rob Thieler (left), Laura Brothers, and David Foster pull in a cable containing underwater microphones after completing a seismic survey in 2014.

Example of a high-resolution seismic-reflection profile collected by the USGS offshore of Point Sal. The profile shows a cross-section of the earth's crust down to about 240 meters. The dashed red lines show the Hosgri Fault Zone, part of a strike-slip fault system that extends for about 400 kilometers along the California coast from Point Arguello to Bolinas.

Example of a deep-penetration multichannel seismic-reflection profile collected offshore of San Mateo County, from the USGS National Archive of Marine Seismic Surveys (NAMSS). The profile shows a cross-section of the earth's crust from the surface down to a depth of about 3 kilometers.

Acoustic backscatter data show the intensity of an acoustic pulse off the seafloor and back to a ship. Brighter tones indicate a strong intensity (possibly harder seafloor?), while darker ones indicate a weaker intensity (possibly softer seafloor?).

State-of-the-art multibeam and bathymetric sidescan sonar systems collect high-resolution bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data.

USGS researcher drills an instrument mount into a reef flat on Roi-Namur Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. Photo by USGS.

A peat auger core collected from the back-barrier marsh of Assateague Island, Maryland. An inorganic-rich layer found at the top of the core was delivered to the marsh via Hurricane Sandy. Visual contrast in sediment down-core reveal similar layers as that observed at the top of the core (i.e., Hurricane Sandy layer).

USGS scientist Tim Elfers conducts a bathymetric (depth) survey from a personal watercraft with onboard GPS and echo sounder equipment, in Santa Cruz, California.